Systems for handling articles inside a fluidtight chamber



April 12, 1960 u. CHANUT ETAL 2,932,413

SYSTEMS FOR HANDLING ARTICLES INSIDE A FLUIDTIGHT CHAMBER Filed Jan. 17,1958 H 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 1

April 12, 1960 I U, CHANUT El'AL 2,932,413

SYSTEMS FOR HANDLING ARTICLES INSIDE A FLUIDTIGHT CHAMBER Filed Jan. 17,1958 I 4 Sheets-$heet 2- April 12, 1960 L. u. CHANUT ET AL 2,932,413

SYSTEMS FOR HANDLING ARTICLES INSIDE A FLUIDTIGHT CHAMBER Filed Jan. 17,1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 5

Fig.6

April 12, 1960 u, CHANUT ET AL 2,932,413-

SYSTEMS FOR HANDLING ARTICLES IANSIDE A FLUIDTIGHT CHAMBER Filed Jan.17, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig.1O

Fig.11

particular motors for operating the system United S at-6 Patent SYSTEMSFOR HANDLING ARTICLES INSIDE A FLUIDTIGHT CHAMBER Laurent Urbain'Chanu't, Saint-Etienne, and Gabriel Roger Dardy, Saint-Priest-en-Jarez,France, assignors to Commissariat a lEnergie Atomique, Paris, France, astate administration of France The present invention relates to systemsfor handling articles inside a fiuidtight chamber.

Such a system is particularly useful in nuclear energy plants where itisnecessary to handle relatively heavy vessels which contain irradiatedmaterials and which are temporarily stored up in chambers which must befiuidtight for obvious safety reasons.

r Such a system must comply with the following conditions: i

Inside the above mentioned chamber there mustibe only purely mechanicalelements, this term excluding in and control means of such motors; ;Thecontainers present in the chamber must be handled insueh manner thatthey'can be placed at any of apluralitypf places defined by verticalsockets provided in the floor of the above mentioned chamber and;distribv and the feed 7 along two parallel vertical wallsrespectively'of the chamher, and a carriage mounted to run along saidbridge and supporting ahoisting mechanism arranged to operate a rfirtically movable hoisting member providedwith hook- .ing means forcatching and holding the articles to be handled, a plurality of shaftsextending in fiuidtight fashion through the ceiling of the chamber sothat the lower ends of said shafts located in said chamber are coupled.with said: bridge to control the traversing displacements thereof, theupper ends of said shafts being coupled with power means mounted on thetop of said .in line with the above mentioned sockets respectively,

being mounted slidablein said ceiling so that their lower ends canoccupy, in said chamber, a neutral level or one of three different lowerlevels, said shaft lower ends carrying transmission means capable-whenthe shaft lower end is at one of said lower levels, of; cooperating withmeans carried by said bridge for controllingthe positionof saidcarriagethereon, said vertical shaftbeing then driven in rotationby-power means displaceable on the top of said ceiling so as to be ableto becoupled with any of said vertical shafts, said transmission meansbeing further capable, when said shaft lower end is at .one of saidlower levels, of cooperating with means carried by said carriage forplacing said hoisting member exactly in line with the vertical shaft atthe lower end of which said transmissionmeans is mounted, saidtransmission means being also capable, when the shaft lower three lowerlevels and to drive it in rotation at each of said levels. 7

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be hereinafterdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, given merely byway of example and in which:

Fig. l is a transverse vertical section of the chamber provided with thesystem according to this invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial plan view in section on the line II'-II of Fig. l. Ii

Fig. 3 is a'longitudinal vertical sectionof the chamber with the systemaccording to the invention.

Fig. 4 shows, on an enlarged scale, a vertical section of the carriageof the travelling crane, in the absence of a container.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line VV of Fig. 4, with a container inposition. a

Fig. 6 is a plan view in section on the line VI-YI of Fig.4.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line VII-VII of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 shows, on a still larger scale, a vertical section on the lineV1HVIlI of Fig. 5. s

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line IXIX of Fig. 8.

Figs. 10 and ll"show,'in plan view, the means for centering the hoistingmechanism with respect to the sockets of the chamber.

'Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view onthe line XII- XII of Fig. 8.

Fig. l3 is a vertical section on the line XIII-XIII of Fig. 8. v

Fig.' 14 is a vertical section on the line XIVXIV of Fig. 8.

The storing chamber 1, illustrated by Figs. 1 and 3, includes verticalwalls 2 and 3, a ceiling 4 and a floor 5.

In the floor 5 of said chamber there are provided several parallel rowsof vertical sockets 6 located at equal intervals from one another andintended to accommodate cylindrical containers 7.

Two runways 8 (Fig. 3) are provided along the two vertical walls 3 forsupporting, through rollers 9, the ends of the bn'dgeor girder 10 of atravelling crane.

To each of the ends of this bridge 10 there is secured the upper portionof a chain 11 (Fig. 1) which passes, at eachend of the correspondingrunway 8, round a sprocket wheel '12 driven from fixed power means 15,through abevel gear 13 and a vertical shaft 14 which extends, in afluidtight fashion, through ceiling 4.

The two chains 11 are simultaneously driven by two power means 15located in fixed position on the top of ceiling 4 so that the bridge,whatever be the direction of its displacement, is driven by the topportions of the chains, the lower portions of said chains beingstretched by 'counterweights 16 guided in fixed frames 17 (Fig. 1)

. 1 Bridge 10 carries two rails or tracks 13 on which bear I insupports25 rigid with bridge 10 and in line with each end isat another lowerlevel, of couplingsaid hoisting topface of said ceiling being adaptedtobring the shaft which is in line with the carriage ,suc cess ivelytosaid other, are driven, on each of said supports, through bevelgearings 26, horizontal shafts 27-48, and bevel gearings 29interposed-between shafts 28-and a vertical shaft 30 the topend of whichis provided witha fork joint 31. The vertical plane in which shafts 24are located is ofifset, with respectto the middle plane of carriage. 20,by a distance equal to that existing between two adjacent rows ofsockets 6.

, Thedistance between two shafts 24 is such that there is Patented Apr.12,

always at least one disc 23 in mesh, through its pins 22, with rack 21(Fig. 2).

Carriage 20 (Figs. 1 and 3), which is in the form of a rectangularframe, carries, suspended therein through two pairs of rectilinear ballrolling tracks 33 and 34, a casing 32. These tracks, which are locatedone above the other, permit horizontal displacements of limitedamplitude of casing 32 with respect to the carriage in two horizontaldirections at right angles to each other. 7

The top portion 35 of casing 32 contains the hoisting mechanism.

. A sleeve 36, mounted inside casing 32 (Figs. 4 and is hanging througha ball socket joint '37 from a transverse member 38 itself pivoted aboutthe axis 39 of a bar 48 to each of the ends of which there is fixed achain 41.

This transverse member 38 is guided by means of two sleeves 42 along twoupright members 43 which connect the bottom of casing 32 with thetoppart 35 thereof 5 Each of the two chains 41 meshes with a sprocketwheel 44 mounted in casing 35 and passes round a guiding roller 45 (Fig.4), both of the chains having their other ends fixed to a cross member46 acting as a counterweight and the ends of which are guided along tworods 47 rigid with casing 32 (Fig. 4).

As shown byFig. 9, each of the sprocket wheels 44 is rigid with a spurpinion 48 which meshes with a pinion 49, both of the pinions 49 beingfixed on a shaft 50 rigid with a worm-wheel 51, itself in mesh with aworm 52 (Fig. 8).

Sleeve 36 (Figs. 4 and 5) carries three hooking levers 53 pivoted abouthorizontal axes 54 fixed with respect to said sleeve 36, said axes beingat 120 to one another.

The hooks 55 of said levers 53 are adapted to engage under an innerflange 56 of a container 7.

The pivoting of levers 53about their respective axes 54 is controlled bya device mounted under transverse member 38 and shown in plan view onFig. 6.

This device includes a toothed disc 58 having its center in coincidencewith the center of transverse member 38 and provided with three grooves59 eccentric with respect to said disc. In each of these grooves isengaged a roller 60 mounted on the top end of one lever 53,respectively.

The teeth of disc 58 mesh with a pinion .61 slidable along a splinedvertical shaft 62 extending between the bottom of casing 32 and the topportion 35 thereof, said shaft carrying, at its top end, a bevel pinion63 (Fig. 8).

Pinion 61 (Fig. 4) is mounted between two discs of a slightly greaterdiameter which compel said pinion 61 to slide along shaft 62 when disc58 is moving vertically.

Control of the hoisting chains 41 on the one hand and of hooking levers53 on the other hand is obtained by means of the mechanism shown by Fig.8.

The shaft of worm 52 carries a bevel pinion 64 which meshes with a bevelpinion 65 fixed on a hollow shaft 66 rigid with a circular plate 67.

On the other hand bevel pinion 63, carried by vertical shaft 62 whichcontrols the hooking levers 53, meshes with a pinion 68 fixed on ahorizontal shaft 69 carrying at its other end a second bevel pinion 70in mesh with a pinion 71 rigid with a hollow shaft 72, coaxially mountedin the hollow shaft 66 and provided at its top end with a notched discor plate 73.

Rotation of the two hollow shafts 66 and 72 is controlled by any of thevertical shafts 74.

As shown by Figs. 1 and 3, vertical shafts 74 are mounted in the ceiling4 of chamber 1, each on the vertical of the center of a correspondingsocket 6.

Each. of said vertical shafts 74 is provided, at its top end, with aportion of square cross-section 75, adapted to be brought intoengagement with a coupling member belonging to one of the two powermeans 76 and 77 displaceable on the top of the ceiling.

On the other hand, each of said vertical shafts 74 can be caused toslide with respect to said ceiling so as to occupy any of a plurality ofpositions corresponding to difierent levels, these verticaldisplacements being controlled by a mechanism (not shown) included ineach of the power means 76 and 77.

At its lower end, eacliof said shafts 74 is provided with coupling meansconstituted by a transverse bar 78 (Fig. 8) on which are mounted, aboutvertical axes 79, two rollers 80.

When shaft 74 is lowered, rollers 80 are brought into engagement, either(first case hereinafter referred to) with the means for controlling thedisplacement of carriage 20 on bridge 10, or (second case hereinafterreferred to) with the hoisting mechanism.

In the first case, where shaft 74 is controlled by a power unit 76,rollers 80 are engaged in the fork joint 31 of shaft 30 (-Fig. 3) andthe rotation of shaft 74 is transmitted, through gearing 29, shafts 27,28 and gearings 26, to shafts 24 either of which, in mesh through thepins 22 of its disc 23 with rack 21, controls the translatorydisplacements of carriage 20 along travelling bridge '10. In the secondcase, where shaft 74 is controlled by a movable power unit 77, rollers80 are engaged in notches 81 provided in an annular member 82 rigid withcircular plate 67 (Fig. 8), and the rotation of shaft 74 is transmitted,through hollow shaft 66 and gearing 64-65, to worm 52, which controlsthe displacements of the hoisting chains.

However the combined movements of travelling bridge 10 and carriage 20do not ensure in a perfect manner the necessary coincidence to beobtained between the vertical axis common to shaft 74 and thecorresponding socket 6 on the one hand, and the vertical axis common tohollow shaft 66 and the hoisting sleeve 36 on the other hand.

This coincidence is ensured, after every displacement of travellingbridge 10 and/or of carriage 20, owing to the possibility of horizontaldisplacements of casing 32 due to the provision of rolling tracks 33 and34.

Each of these rolling tracks includes a return device (Figs. 6 and 7)constituted by two antagonistic springs 83 bearing, on the one hand upona projection 84 carried by a bar 85 which maintains the proper distancebetween two balls 33 or 34, and on the other hand against abutments 86,fixed with respect to the rolling track. The action of these springstends to keep casing 32 in a mean center position with respect tocarriage 20.

Above the top portion 35 of casing 32 is a frame 87 (Fig. 8) in which isprovided an aperture 88 the shape of which is shown in plan view (andsurrounded by cross-hatchings) in Figs. 10 and 11.

This outline permits of inscribing rollers 80 in frame 87 whatever be,within the limits permitted by the provision of rolling tracks 33 and34, the position of casing 32 with respect to vertical shaft 74.

0n Fig. 10, the vertical axis 0 of casing 32, and consequently ofannular member 82, is shown in an eccentric position with respect to theaxis of shaft 74.

When rollers 80 are inscribed in aperture 88, a rotation of 90 impartedto bar 78 by the movable power unit 77, brings rollers 80 into contactwith the edge of aperture 88 and thus returns the axis 0 of annularmember 82, which can move with respect to carriage 20 owing to theprovision of rolling tracks 33 and 34, into coincidence with the axis ofshaft 74, as shown by Fig; 11.

For this centering operation, shaft 74, and therefore bar 78, has beengiven by the movable power unit 77 a downward displacement A (Fig. 8),from the top position in which rollers 80 are at level XX, that is tosay above the plane in which move the parts supported by the travellingbridge and the carriage.

A further downward displacement B of bar 78 then permits of engaging therollers 80 in annular member 82, and therefore of driving this member 82in rotation,

this movement being transmitted to the hoisting chains.

A third downward displacement C of bar 78 brings rollers 80into acircular recess 89 provided at the lower end of annular member 82,whereby this annular member- 82 ceases to be driven in rotation whereasbar 78 comes into engagement, through projections 105, with the notchesof circular plate 73, the rotation movement of shaft 74 being thentransmitted to pinion '61, which controls the hooking levers 53, bymeans of hollow shaft 72; pinions 71-70, horizontal shaft 69, pinions68, 63 and shaft 62.

Safety means are provided in order to control the correct succession ofthe respective operations which are to be performed.

.A rod 90'(Fig. 8), centered in hollow shaft 72, bears, at its lowerend, on a roller 91 mounted at the end of a'leverj92(Fig. 13) whichcontrols, by means of two toothed sectors 93 and 94, a shaft 95 whichcarries, at

one of its ends, a pawl 96 intended to mesh with a notch 97 provided inthe periphery of a disc 98 keyed on the'shaft of worm 52 (Fig. 12). Theother end of shaft 95 carries a flat member 99 provided with a notch 100intended to engage on a sleeve 101 fixed on shaft 69 and having curvededges 102 concentric with shaft 95 (Fig. 14). 9

Rod 90 is controlled by the downward movement of bar 78. After adisplacement of A+a, the vertical shaft 74 moves rod 90 downwardly sothat, when rollers 80 are in engagement with annular member 82, pawl 96is disengaged from disc 98 and permits the shaft of worm 52 to rotate,whereas, after a displacement b in addition to the downward displacementB, member 99 releases shaft 69 and permits the operation of hookinglevers 53.

Bar 78 must not be allowed to move upwardly into the centering positionas long as rollers 80, in engagement with annular member 82, are notdisposed along the line which corresponds to the beginning or to the endof the hoisting movement. Accordingly, frame 87- carries two projections103 intended to control the direction of bar 78 the upper wings of whichare provided with corresponding notches 104 (Fig. 11).

The system above described is operated as follows:

Travelling bridge and carriage 20 being in any given position, it isdesired to displace a container 7 engaged in a given socket 6. Thetravelling bridge 10 is brought above a corresponding row of sockets bymeans of the two fixed power units located on the side toward which thebridge is to be moved.

Carriage is then moved transversely on bridge 10, by means of themovable power unit 76, to come above the socket that has been chosen.For this purpose, the movable power unit 76 is coupled with a verticalshaft 74 of the row of shafts adjoining that located above the bridge,this shaft being then lowered so as to bring rollers 80 into engagementwith the fork joint 31 of the shaft 30 which controls the movements oftranslation of the carriage.

Of course, instead of first displacing the bridge and then the carriage,we might as well operate in the reverse order.

The movable power unit 77 is then coupled with the vertical shaft 74 nowlocated above carriage 20.

The succession of operations controlled by said power unit 77 is then asfollows:

Lowering of shaft 74 to bring rollers 80 into engagement with thecentering frame 87; rotation of shaft 74 to perform the centeringoperation; lowering of shaft 74 to bring the rollers into engagementwith annular member 82; rotation of shaft 74 to control the movement ofthe hoisting chains in the direction which causes sleeve 36 to movedownwardly; stopping of the rotation and further lowering of shaft 74 tobring the projections 105 of arm 78 into engagement with the notches ofplate 73; rotation of shaft 74 to control the engagement of the bookinglevers with containers 7; stopping of the rotation and upward movementimparted to shaft 74 to act subsequently upon annular member 82 in thedirection'which corresponds to an upward displacement of sleeve 36;stopping of the rotation in the position determined by pins 99; andfinally upward movement of shaft 74 back to its initialposition of rest.

The operations for placing a container in one of the sockets are thesame, but effected in the reverse order.

It should be noted that any risk of a container being dropped during oneof the operations is prevented bythe fact that member 99 locks thehooking levers as soon" as shaft '74 is lifted in order to be coupledwith. the annular member 82.

It may be necessary to 031L156 a stream of air under pressure to flowthrough chamber 1. On Figs. 1 and 3, we have shown, under sockets 6, acircuit 106 fed from mains 107 and channels 108, the fact of placing aloaded container 7 in a socket 6 having for its elfect to operate astopping member such as a valve (not shown) which enables air underpressure to enter chamber 1 and to cool down the container 7 that hasjust been inserted into the socket.

c In a general'manner, while we have, in the above desdriptiomdisclosedwhat we deem to be practical and efiicient embodiments of our invention,it should be well understood thatwe do not wish to be limited thereto as.there' might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and formof the parts without departing from the principle of the presentinvention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

What we claim is:

1. For use in connection with a structure forming a fluidtight chamberincluding four vertical walls, two of which are parallel, a ceiling anda floor, said floor being provided with a plurality of vertical socketsdisposed in several parallel rows, a system for handling articleslocated in said chamber and adapted to fit in said sockets, which systemcomprises,in combination, runways extending above said floor along saidtwo parallel walls respectively and at the same level, a bridgetransverse to said runways mounted to travel thereon, a carriage mountedto run along said bridge, a plurality of shafts extending in fluidtightfashion through said ceiling, so that the lower ends of said shafts arein said chamber, means for coupling the lower ends of said shafts withsaid bridge whereby rotation of said shafts produces transversing ofsaid bridge, power means mounted in fixed position on the top face ofsaidceiling for driving said shafts from the outside of said chamber, aplurality of vertical shafts extending in fluidtight fashion throughsaid ceiling, each of said last mentioned shafts being in line with oneof said vertical sockets respectively, each of said vertical shaftsbeing slidable in said ceiling so that the lower end thereof can bepositioned in said chamber either at a neutral level or at one of aplurality of lower levels, transmission means mounted at the lower endof each of said vertical shafts, means carried by said bridge forcontrolling the position of said carriage thereon, said last mentionedmeans being arranged to cooperate with one of said transmission meanswhen said last mentioned transmission means is at one of said lowerlevels, power means displaceable on the top face of said ceiling forbeing operatively connected with any of said vertical shafts to lower itto said last mentioned level and to drive it, a hoisting member movablevertically in said carriage, hooking means for catching and holding saidarticles, said hooking means being mounted on said hoisting member, ahoisting mechanism mounted on said carriage for moving said hoistingmember vertically with respect to said carriage, means carried by saidcarriage to cooperate with one of said transmission means, when saidtransmission means is at one of said lower levels, for then placing saidhoisting member exactly in line with the vertical shaft at the lower endof which said last mentioned transmission means is mounted, meanscarried by said carriage to cooperate with said last mentionedtransmission means, when said transmission means 'is at another of saidlower levels, for then coupling said hoisting mechanism with saidtransmission means when said transmission means is at'still another ofsaid levels, for having said hooking means operated from saidtransmission means, and power means displaceable on the top face of saidceiling for being operatively connected with any of said vertical shaftsto bring it successively to said last mentioned lower levels and todrive it in rotation at each of said levels.

2. A system according to claim 1.. in which the transmission meansmounted at the lower ends of said vertical shafts include a bar fixed tosaid shafts and extending on either side thereof at rightangles/thereto, and rollers mounted 'at the ends of said bar aboutvertical axes, said two rollers being diametrically opposed with respectto the corresponding vertical shaft.

3. A system according to claim 2 in which said hooking. means areconstituted by hooked levers pivoted to said hoisting memberaboutrespective' horizontal axes, further including rolling means formovably supporting said member with respect 'to-said carriage to permitlimited horizontal displacements of said member with respect to saidcarriage, and a part rigid with said member forming a cam adapted tocooperate with said rollers and constituting the means for placing saidmember exactly in line with a vertical shaft.

.- 4. A system according to claim 2 in which the means for coupling thehoisting means with a vertical shaft include a casing mounted in saidcarriage, a transverse member vertically movable in said casing'andsupporting said hoisting member, chains fixed to said transverse member,sprocket wheels,"journalled in said cas'ing'and in cooperatingengagement withsaid wheels, an annular member rotatable about a verticalaxis with respect to said casing, said -annular.member being providedwith notches adapted to cooperate with said rollers, aridspeed reducinggear means interposed between said annular member and said sprocketwheels.

5. A system according to claim 2 in which said hooking means areconstituted by hooked levers pivoted to said hoisting member aboutrespective horizontal'axes, said means for having said hooking meansoperated from said transmission means including rollers carried by theupper ends of said hooked levers, a disc rotatable about a vertical axiswith respect to said carriage and slidable vertically with respectthereto together with said hoisting member, said disc being providedwith cam surfaces in cooperating engagement with said last mentionedrollers, and gear means slidable vertically with respect to saidcarriage for transmitting the rotating movement of said transmissionmeans to said disc.

No references cited.

